The present invention relates to a technology used for improving operatability to specify a display range in an information-processing apparatus having a configuration allowing the user to enter operation inputs while viewing a screen display by using a coordinate input unit (or a coordinate read unit) such as a touch panel.
As an operation input configuration of an information-processing apparatus such as a portable computer, there is known a configuration using an input unit (or a read unit) of an absolute coordinate type. Examples of the input unit (or the read unit) of the absolute coordinate type are a touch panel and a tablet. With the input unit (or the read unit) of the absolute coordinate type, an operation input can be entered to the information-processing apparatus by using a stylus or a finger. With an application program activated to run under an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) executed in the information-processing apparatus, for example, the user is capable of carrying out an operation by using a GUI (Graphical User Interface) while viewing information appearing on the display screen of the apparatus.
There has been known an input pen system having a switching function allowing the user familiar with operations carried out in a GUI environment using a pointing device such as the mouse to enter an operation input in the same operating sense as an apparatus provided with a touch panel as disclosed in some documents. An example of the switching function is a function to switch from a right-click facility of the mouse to left-click facility thereof and vice versa.
One of such techniques is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2000-81951.